BYU junior quarterback Riley Nelson made news on Sept. 30 by pulling off his helmet, revealing a haircut that was clearly out of bounds (at least by the school's dress code standards). But he fixed that by showing up the next week wearing a nice, trim missionary haircut.

It wasn't as tight as a Jake Heaps bristle cut, but still.

Meanwhile, Heaps was asked last week about being benched for the first time in his life, to which he replied: "It is what it is. You just take it one day at a time and you take it in stride."

He went on to reference "working hard" and "taking advantage of every rep."

Rock On isn't sure if Heaps will set any passing records, but he's clearly on track to smash all existing marks for sports cliches in a single interview.

FULLY INVESTED

BYU had no serious problems beating San Jose State on Saturday night, which was a good thing considering that after the USU game, coach Bronco Mendenhall said his team was "battered and bruised and sweating and dripping."

Yeah, and that was just from his halftime speech.

MUDDLING THROUGH

A man suspected of stealing copper wire reportedly became stuck in the mud at Utah Lake on Sunday and had to be retrieved by search-and-rescue professionals.

Hmmm. Stuck in a quagmire, in need of emergency rescue …

What would Kyle Whittingham be doing down by Utah Lake?

FRENCH CONNECTION

Seems NBA players are scrambling to play overseas.

Reports say Spurs guard Tony Parker has agreed to play basketball in France for the regal sum of $2,000 a month.

That's right — $2,000 a MONTH.

True, he owns the team, but when was the last time an NBA player earned less than the people writing about him?

TV TALK

Rock On sources say Parker is also negotiating with network executives to star in a new reality TV show about out-of-work NBA stars called "Desperate Ballplayers."

Brad Rock, a.k.a. "Rockmonster," has been a sports columnist at the Deseret News since 1994. Prior to that he worked as a beat writer, covering the Utah Jazz (1990-94). He has covered the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, NBA more ..